Dimitris Diamantidis and Nick Calathes met with Panathinaikos’ fans in an event that took place at the PAO SHOP. The stars of the event were of course the players, but also two items of…worship: the trophy that the team won in Barcelona, that is to say the sixth European one, and the set box that contains the two 2011 Final Four games, interviews with the leading stars of the triumph, and plenty of pictures from yet another three-day journey that will remain indelible to the hearts and minds of the “clover’s” fans.
The “Greens’” two players took pictures with fans, spoke with them, signed box sets, t-shirts and jerseys; and just one week after conquering the Greek Cup they spoke about the next goal: qualifying to the 2012 Final Four in Istanbul.
Panathinaikos’ captain, Dimitris Diamantidis, underlined: “This kind of events are a pleasant break for us and bring us closer to the fans. We are happy for this, but also for being able to recall memories of conquering the Euroleague competition in Barcelona last year, as we stand here next to the trophy. But this is already a thing of the past. We must now focus in the future and the difficult games that lie ahead against. We need to focus on the games against Maccabi Tel Aviv and these games have nothing to do with what happened last season. It is a brand new team, a traditional power in European basketball, and our objective is to try once again to do the best we can. We want to qualify to the Final Four and will muster all our might in order to achieve that. The home advantage helps, but unless you play good basketball, unless you prove on court that you deserve to qualify, then the home advantage has little importance. We must strive on court!”
Nick Calathes took over from Diamantidis: “It was truly very nice to mingle with Panathinaikos’ fans. They have been supporting us all year-long, helping us no matter what the outcome of the game, and have been standing by our side all the way. Signing the new set-box for the 6th European championship that the team has won was also very special. Just by seeing it, together with the trophy that had its share in the spotlight in today’s event, is very important to us. Winning the title last season was a special moment for us and it is beautiful to have it engraved in time through this set-box. I know that the people want us to excel this season too and today wished us the best of success in the games against Maccabi; but we too want the same thing: attain one more of our goals. We have had good practice sessions these days, and we will also watch our opponents even better with the help of scouting and our coaches. When the time comes for us to play against them, we will know everything there is to know about Maccabi, try to play the game our way, and will do the best we can. We must also make the most of the home advantage too. With the support of the fans, we will fight it through and play well in order to get the coveted outcome.”
